Aidan's Angel
by FanoraJane
Summary: Justin and Brian live together in their country manor. Justin never went to New York. One day Brian gets a surprising letter that changes both of their lives.


**I don't own anything in this story that sounds the slightest bit familiar, so don't sue me**. A.N. – Ok, in season 5, the stupid thing never happened. B and J still have the house and went through with the wedding. Justin is a semi-successful artist who works from home and has occasional shows. (P.S. – remember, Brian + Justin Briton) Also, for some reason, no one besides Brian and Justin are in this story. So don't be disappointed when you don't see Em or Mikey.

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Mina Kingsly woke suddenly with the feeling that something was wrong. She walked down the hall and opened the door to her young son's room. Aidan Kingsly was sitting up in bed with a desolate look on his face. "Mommy, why couldn't Daddy be here for my birthday?"

Mina thought back to her thirtieth birthday when she'd convinced her brother to bring her the semen of Brian Kinney, a handsome, successful businessman who would never challenge her for parental rights. She'd inseminated herself, carried the baby to term, and raised her child all by herself. But no, Aidan needed a father. "Oh, baby, your daddy would've lobed to see you turn nine, but you know that he doesn't know about us."

As she rocked her child back to sleep, Mina thought about the letter that she had mailed earlier that day, it had been the hardest thing she'd ever done, but after seeing her son's face tonight, she knew it was the right thing.

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Three Days Later…

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Brian Kinney opened his eyes to the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen: his husband, in their bed, in their home. Those who know Brian Kinney would've been surprised at the tender thoughts going through his head at the moment, but it wasn't so surprising really. Brian had never allowed himself to be consumed by love, but now that he had, he held nothing back.

Brian glanced at the alarm clock, then back at his husband, no way was he waking Justin up at 5:00 AM. Carefully, Brian disentangled himself from Justin, and went downstairs to start the coffee. As Brian waited for the coffee to perk, he went through yesterday's mail. An invitation to Brown Athletics' annual Christmas party, a pamphlet for yet another charity drive fro the Gay and Lesbian Center, and a thick envelope from Max G. Arnold, attorney at law.

Brian looked curiously at the envelope, ever since Mel and Linds had moved to Canada, his lawyer had been Cynthia's sister, Gayle. Inside the envelope was a typed letter and another sealed envelope. Brian picked up the letter first.

Dear Sir,

It is with deep regret that we inform you of the death of our client, Wilhelmina Joy Kingsly. As you are a concerned party, we would like to invite you to the reading of Ms. Kingsly's last will and testament.

We must also inform you that your son, Aidan Kinney Kingsly, is being lodged by Pennsylvania Children's Services. Please contact your local Children's Service office for pick up information….

The letter went on, giving contact information, ID numbers, and the time and place of the reading of the will, but Brian's shell shocked eyes could take in none of this. This had to be a mistake! He'd never had sex with any woman except Lindsey, and that was just the once. He didn't even know anyone named Wilhelmina.

Just then , Brian caught sight of the sealed envelope. Neatly printed on the front were the words Brian Kinney. Brian opened it, as he read he got more and more angry. "That Bitch!" getting one of his tricks to steal his sperm! Brian's anger soon calmed when he realized that it's target was far beyond feeling it.

And the kid, what was he going to do about the kid? And Justin! What the hell was he going to tell Justin?

Well, first things first, Brian thought. He'd go upstairs, wake Justin, and explain this to him as calmly as possible. Then he'd have to go get that poor kid.

Justin, being Justin, was understanding and supportive to a fault. He soothed Brian and kept calm himself. He was the embodiment of understanding when Brian told him that he needed to get the child by himself.

Brian sped toward Pittsburgh in his low slung corvette. He couldn't believe that he'd been living in the same city as his child and he'd never known. Brian parked outside the Pittsburgh Children's Services office, and strode into the dour building. Two hours of paper work and sitting next to smelly women later, Brian was approached in the waiting room by a nine year old boy wearing a small back-pack. "Hello Daddy" the boy said. Brian took in the brown hair and the roman nose, so like his own, it was impossible to deny that this was his son. "Hello, Aidan, did your mother tell you about me?" "Yes, she said you didn't know abut us, but that you would love me when you met me, do you?" Brian was surprised to find that, even though he'd only known of Aidan's existence for a few hours, he did love the boy. "Of course I do, Sonny-boy. Now, lets go home." Brian held out his hand to Aidan, who took it murmuring, "Ok, Daddy."

The thirty minute drive to Briton Manor, where Brian and Justin lived, seemed longer than usual, even with Aidan chattering on about his life before his mother's death. Apparently, Mina's death had been long anticipated, and Aidan appeared to by quite accepting of it.

Brian stopped the car in front of the manor. He took the small back-pack in one hand, his son's hand in the other, and they walked up to the door. Just as they approached the door it opened from within, and there stood Justin smiling his sunshine smile. "Hi there, you must be Aidan." Aidan stood still, mouth agape, staring at the beautiful, blond, young man before him. Finally, Aidan turned to Brian, "Daddy, it's an Angel!"

Justin laughed and his smile got even brighter. Brian grinned, "This is Justin, my…husband." Aidan's focus changed from Justin to Brian and his eyes grew large with awe. "Wow, Daddy. You married an Angel?" "I sure did, Sonny-boy, and you know what?" "What?" inquired the impressed boy. "Since you're going to be living with us, I'll share him with you."

Justin held out his hand to Aidan. As Aidan took the proffered hand, he looked at his father, "Thank you, Daddy."

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One Week Later…

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Justin quietly opened the door to Aidan's room, he crept stealthily over to the bed, and leapt. "Wake up, wake up, wake up." Justin picked up the now giggling Aidan and carried him down to the kitchen. Aidan scrambled into his seat at the breakfast table. "Well, Aidan," Justin inquired, "what would you like for breakfast? You'll need an extra special one since you're going back to Pittsburgh Elementary today." "How about French toast." replied Aidan. "Coming right up."

Justin glanced over at Aidan as he set the French toast on the table, "So, are you excited to go back to school? See all your friends?" "Sure" Aidan answered with a mouth full of toast. Sensing that Justin was about to go into full worry mode, Brian wiped his mouth and stood up, "Alright sonny-boy, let's go." He said decisively.

Aidan grabbed his bag and headed out to the drive way, closely followed by Brian and Justin. Justin saw the exact moment when Brian realized that the three of them wouldn't fit into his corvette. "Oh no, No way am I riding in that ugly excuse for a grocery getter!" "Oh, come on Brian," Justin said indulgently, "the Element isn't that bad." "Compared to what?" Brian sneered sarcastically. But he got in anyway. The thirty minute drive went by quickly and before any of them knew it, they were sitting outside Pittsburgh Elementary. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Aidan" Justin asked, worriedly. "I'll be fine Poppy. Bye Poppy, bye Daddy."

The car door opened and closed leaving Brian and Justin alone in the SUV. "Poppy?" Brian said with a raised eyebrow, "when did this happen?" "Well, it's better than 'Angel', isn't it?" Justin pulled to a stop outside of Kinnetik, the advertising agency that Brian owned and had created. Brian got out of the Element after a quick kiss goodbye and Justin's promise to pick him up after work.

Later that night Aidan approached his father, who was working on his laptop. "Do you want to play a game, Daddy?" "Sorry, Sonny-boy, but I need to get this done for work tomorrow." "What is your work, Daddy?" Aidan asked. "Well, I help people sell things." "Like commercials?" "Something like that," Brian replied. "What does Poppy do?" was Aidan's next question. "Justin, is the best artist that ever was." Brian paused. "Don't tell him I said that. How abut you go sit with Justin in his studio. You can take your crayons and coloring book." Brian offered, hoping to get some time to finish his presentation. "Ok"

Justin looked up as the door to his studio opened. "Hey, baby," he greeted Aidan. "Hi Poppy, what are you painting?" Aidan asked. "Come see" Justin held out his hand to Aidan, who took the hand and moved to Justin's side to view the halfway completed painting. "It's us, you and me and Daddy!" Aidan crowed. "That's right" Justin said as he reached to add a touch to his painting.

Suddenly, Justin's hand spasmed and the paint brush dropped to the floor. Justin cried out and clutched his hand to his chest. "Poppy!", Aidan cried, "what's wrong?" "DADDY" he screamed. Justin's unhurt hand came around Aidan's shoulders, "It's alright, baby. I'm Ok." Brian burst into the room, "What is it?" he demanded, "is Aidan alright?" "Everything's fine, Brian" Justin reassured him, "it was just my hand. I painted to long." "What's wrong with Poppy's hand, Daddy." Aidan asked worriedly.

"Well" Brian said as he led both Justin and Aidan over to the old couch in the corner of the studio, "about five years ago, when Justin graduated from high-school, there was a big party called the Prom that Justin convinced me to take him to." "We had a wonderful time", Justin interjected, "and it was ridiculously romantic." "Anyway", Brian continued, "there was a very mean boy at the Prom, who didn't like two boys going to a dance together. So he hurt Sunshine." "Is that you, Poppy?" "Yes", Justin answered, smiling wistfully. "How did the mean boy hurt you?" "He bashed him in the head with a baseball bat." Brian blurted.

Justin glared at Brian, and then turned back to Aidan. "But I'm Ok now, baby. See", he said, holding out his only slightly cramped hand and flexing it painfully, "it's fine now. I just need to rest it for a few hours."

"Yeah" Brian muttered sarcastically, as Justin led Aidan off to the TV room to wile away the hours until he could use his hand again, "it's just _fine_."

( A.N.- to see Justin's Element, go to this link: http/images. )

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Two Days Later…

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Bring bring, Brring bring

Justin put the last dab of paint on the family painting he'd just finished, and went to answer the phone. "Hi, this is Justin." "Hello, this is Greta from Pittsburgh Elementary…" "Is Aidan alright?" Justin interrupted worriedly. "He's just got a little stomach ache, nothing to worry about, but we need someone to come pick him up." "I'll be right there." Justin promised, as he grabbed his jacket and keys.

Justin hurried into the nurse's office twenty minutes later, looking for Aidan. When he saw him, he rushed over and picked the boy up, feeling his forehead at the same time. A friendly looking woman approached them with a clipboard. "Hi, you must be Mr. Taylor, I'm Greta. We've already notified Mr. Kinney that you're taking Aidan home, so I just need you sign this form and you can be on your way." Justin signed the form, quickly thanked the nurse, and carried Aidan back out to the car. "How do you feel, baby?" he asked. "Not so good, Poppy." "I'm sorry, baby." Justin said sympathetically, "We're just going to stop by the pharmacy really quick and then I'll take you home and we can watch cartoons on the couch. Ok?" "Ok, Poppy" agreed the sick little boy.

The drive to the pharmacy was fast. Justin carried Aidan in and quickly picked up some children's aspirin and Pepto-Bismol™. Justin got some money out of his wallet while they were standing in line, not noticing the rough looking man peering over his shoulder. Justin pained for his selections and hustled Aidan around back to the alley he'd been forced to park in for lack of space.

No more than ten steps from the Element, Justin felt himself grabbed from behind. "Give me your wallet" demanded the man that had followed them out of the store. When Justin was too slow getting his wallet out, the man shook him harshly and slammed him against the wall by his throat. "Hurry up!" the man growled.

Aidan who, until that point, had been standing to the side, frozen with shock, now jumped at the man, biting and kicking. "Don't hurt my Poppy!" he screamed. The man dropped Justin, gasping, to the ground and turned to Aidan, slapping him across the face. "I'm gonna teach you some manners, boy" he said menacingly.

The slap had caused Aidan to fall to the ground, and the man pulled back his foot, preparing to kick the fallen boy. Before the man's foot could make contact, Justin leapt over, covering Aidan's small body with his own. Justin cried out as he felt the foot make contact with his ribs. "Fine, I guess you're gonna learn his manners for him" the man sneered. Justin felt the man's boot connect with his ribs again and again, and then the world went black as the man's foot connected with his head.

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♫Deedly Dee, Deedly Dee♫

Brian flipped open his cell phone, "Kinney here" "Mr. Kinney, this is St. Joseph's Hospital, I'm calling because you're listed as the next of kin for a Mr. Justin Taylor. Is that correct?" Brian stopped breathing. "Mr. Kinney, are you there?" Brian gasped suddenly, "Yes, yes I'm here. Where's Justin?" he demanded. "Sir, Mr. Taylor was brought in a few moments ago in critical condition." "Oh god" Brian gasped. "Can you come, Sir? We need you to fill out some paperwork, and also to take custody of the young boy that came in with Mr. Taylor." "Is Aidan alright" Brian asked. "Just a few scraps and a stomach ache." "I'll be there in ten minutes." Brian promised.

Ten minutes later Brian burst into the waiting room looking around wildly. He immediately spotted Aidan, who was sitting next to a serious looking man in scrubs. Aidan spotted Brian as he ran over to the boy. "Daddy" he cried. "It's Ok, Sonny-boy" Brian soothed as he scooped Aidan into his arms, "I'm here".

Brian turned to the man in scrubs, with Aidan in his arms. "Where's Justin?" he asked harshly. "Mr. Kinney?" asked the young intern. "Of course" Brian growled impatiently, "now answer my question." "Mr. Taylor is in surgery at the moment." "What happened?" Brian asked. "It appears that Mr. Taylor was the victim of a violent mugging, Sir. He sustained trauma to his right set of ribs, breaking two of them. The most worrying injury, however, is his head" explained the intern. "Oh god" moaned Brian. "Due to his previous cranial injury, this injury is much more serious than it might have been. The doctors are operating now to try to relieve the pressure, but with Mr. Taylor's previous brain damage, his chances of survival aren't very good." "Oh god" Brian moaned again, unable to say anything else. Brian sank down into the waiting chair, clutching Aidan to his chest. The intern shuffled his feet in discomfort, "I'll let you know as soon as he's out of surgery Mr. Kinney, but I have to go now."

Brian sat as still as a statue with his arms wrapped tight around his son he couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to the last time he'd sat waiting for news of Justin in a hospital. He'd been wearing the Armani™ tuxedo that he'd picked out especially for Justin's prom. The tuxedo had been soaked in Justin's blood, which had dried and flaked off while Brian waited for news with silent tears running down his face.

This time there were no tears, only a dry eyed man holding tight to his son while the only other thing that made his life worth living struggled between life and death.

"Mr. Kinney…Mr. Kinney" Brian looked up an hour and a half later to see the same young intern from before. "Yes" Brian answered without expression. "Mr. Taylor has survived the surgery, and is now in recovery. Unfortunately, however, he slipped into a coma. "He's been in a coma before" Brian said with bravado before asking the question that he knew from experience had to be asked, "How long does he have to come out of it?" "If he hasn't come out within the next week, we'll need to discuss any living will that he might have with his lawyer." "What?" Brian cried "only a week and then you want to pull the plug?"

Just then a sleepy voice came from Brian's lap, "A week? That's when I graduate from elementary school. Right, Daddy?" "That's right, Aidan." The intern scuttled off, relieved that he wouldn't have to face Brian's rage. "Don't worry, Daddy," Aidan murmured as he fell back to sleep, "angels can't die." "I hope you're right, sonny-boy" Brian said, with anything but hope in his voice, "I hope you're right."

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One Week Later…

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Aidan stood anxiously with the rest of his class. He was about to do his special performance in honor of his Poppy. Aidan walked up to the microphone, "This song is for my Poppy, Justin. People call him Sunshine, because his happy smile makes you feel like the sun is shining only on you." Aidan bravely faced the crowed of well dressed parents and began to sing.

♫ You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.  
You make me happy when skies are grey.  
You'll never know dear, how much I love you.  
Please don't take my sunshine away.

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping,  
I dreamt you stood there free from harm.  
But when I woke up, I was mistaken,  
So I hung my head down and cried.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.  
You make me happy when skies are grey.  
You'll never know dear, how much I love you.  
Please don't take my sunshine away. ♫

Aidan smiled as he accepted his "diploma", then he ran back to where his family was sitting. Before he could get there he was intercepted, and scooped up into loving arms. "Oh, Aidan, I'm so proud of you. I love you." "I love you too, Poppy." Aidan replied as he squeezed Justin tight. "Sunshine, put him down" a tired looking Brian grouched, "you shouldn't be lifting anything for at least a month." But Justin just smiled his sunshine smile as Brian gently lowered him to his seat.

**THE END**

A.N.I've only gotten two reviews so far, and that makes me cry .


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